“C’mon now. I want you to disagree with me.” Anyone who had the opportunity to be on the production team for one of Terry’s shows should remember this phrase. None of us had a chance to make any disagreement stick for more than a few seconds, nonetheless it was the constant discourse he led about the shows we produced that helped them succeed and all of us learn, together. I was saddened to hear the news earlier this week. I’m very sorry for Bonnie and Kia’s loss. Terry was a true scholar and liberal artist who as we all know felt it was his duty to produce unique works that would otherwise remain on a shelf. (It seemed odd at the time, but is way cool now.) It was certainly interesting to be a part of productions where there was usually little precedent or production history to work from - no crutches. The search for the answers by production team helped all involved to consider concepts we were not normally exposed to and learn to communicate these to others. We stood on the merits of our individual crafts and collectively showed our team effort in public. This is the true essence of theatre. I will always be thankful to have shared those journeys with Terry over the 17 years we worked together and I feel I did some of my best design work with him. I read these testimonials on this forum and am flooded with memories and emotion for a lost friend and colleague, and for the accomplishments of all of you have made since our time together. If theatre is not your profession now, as it no longer is for me, it just shows that work in the theatre really can prepare you for a career! There are a million stories I could tell here but I’ll mention one. I’ll never forget the first day of classes for his final year of teaching. He walked by me in the hallway stopped and turned, with index finger pointed upward, said (smiling), “I think I went one year too long!” Play softball, Terry! The knee’s OK now!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 23:11:33 +0000